What to do with 5 Hours in Juneau, Alaska
Wildlife, hiking and breathtaking views - make the most of your short time in Juneau, Alaska.
A view from the hiking path.
Ride the Sky Tram. This will take you up the mountains, where there’s access to hiking trails - we saw waterfalls and black-tailed deer. Also, you’ll experience an awesome view, overlooking Juneau, as you ride up and down.
Grab a bite of fresh seafood. When I was preparing for Juneau, I read a ton of blogs that recommended eating crab at Tracy’s King Crab Shack, and I’m here to save you from that absurdly overpriced meal. Don’t eat at the touristy places - crab legs aren’t worth nearly a hundred dollars. Walk the town - there’s plenty of good places to eat for much less - we grabbed a few (rightfully priced) salmon burgers at a tiny shack (I don’t recall the name), and ate them on the dock - it was delicious. Though we were already full, we passed by a crepe truck that seems to be very popular, and the menu was incredible - sweet and savory crepe options. If you really want crab legs, there will be other chances - perhaps Ketchikan - you are in Alaska, after all.
Seaplane landing.
Watch the seaplanes. Near the port, there’s a pier where you can watch the planes land and take-off out on the water. These little planes are a major form of transportation for locals, and are even offered for excursions; however, we were strongly discouraged to do so, due to the many accidents and illegal pilots.
Sign up for an excursion. Juneau is a smaller port, and one that we had the least amount of time at (as little as 5 hours). As far as excursions go, I’d sign up for white water rafting - this will take you near glaciers and wildlife (specifically tons of Bald Eagles). Unfortunately, rainy weather and flooding is typical for summer in Alaska, so it’s important to have a back-up plan in case this interferes with your excursion, as it did ours.
